Obviously the right candidate should fit into the context of what the employer is looking for. I'm quite pleased that the company I work for values the strengths of the person more than the alphabet soup behind their name. There are people in high level positions with just a Bachelors degree. That is not at all the same situation in our competitors, whom we have poached many employees from recently.
I should say, as well as looking for practical experience, capacity to learn matters too. Hubby hired one young woman who's done almost no hands on work, but showed aptitude and willingness to learn it fast.
He also passed over two applicants who held two masters each, and spoke 5 languages, because they showed none of said willingness. They're too smart to need to learn from people who have no degrees. And in the oil patch, the upper tier of management is often people with almost zero formal education.
The educational certificates are great, but they definitely aren't the be all and end all.